Virginia's Eastern Shore

Hey Everybody,

This morning I continued north on Highway 13 so that I could wander Chincoteague and Assateague Islands before heading inland for the next few days. I stopped about 3 miles shy of the Maryland state line since I'll begin there once I return to the coast.

The cool thing about Highway 13 is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. It's an expensive toll road $12 one way ($5 return if it's within 24hours), but it pretty much eliminates traffic - even during season according to a hotel employee. It's amazing how much ship traffic passes through the Chesapeake Bay. In a 15 min period two massive cargo ships came in. I hope it's not that busy all day....how much stuff do we need?!

I was surprised to find a huge NASA presence on a little island (Wallops Island) on the way to my destination. Remember that scene in Contact where Jodie Foster has all those satellite dishes? It looks like that only bigger! That's all I know though since the NASA Museum was closed.

I was also surprised to find Tyson chicken, Perdue chicken, and multiple tomato packaging or canning plants on Highway 13. I knew the chicken people were in the state, but it never occurred to me that they'd be off-shore.

Back to the islands: Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge is located here and is famous for its wild ponies. Not that they're really wild...they have vets, fences, get auctioned, have numbers branded on them, are even behind fences on a hotel's property! The only wild horses I know of on the east coast are on Cumberland Island. Still...they are pretty & the babies look very young & cute, although they never got close. By the way, if the horses look bloated it's because they drink saltwater.

This place has great hiking and biking paths. I rode through part of the forest, but learned that there is a bike path from the town of Chincoteague to the beach and trails. It's quite beautiful here.

The Assateague Lighthouse was built in 1866-67 (I think that's true). The sign said open for climbs, but wasn't actually open. The small red bldg served as the Oil House. In the beachy looking photo the Atlantic & its beach are on the right just beyond the picture.

For those of you growing tired of wetlands, horses, and sand....Stay tuned. I made it to Virginia's mountains and caves area tonight. The drive through the rolling hills and valleys was beautiful until the rain and fog interrupted. I think lots of places are cool and beautiful, but this part of the state is gorgeous.